Process for treating animal hair and wool with chlorine



' for carroting it.

Patented Apr. 29, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ERIGH Bonn, or vmnnmausrnm PROCESS FOR TREATING ANIMAL HAIR AND WOOL WITH CHLORIN 'E No Drawing. Application filed November'22, 1927, Serial Ijfo. 235,125, and in Austria December 1, 1926.

My invention relates to an improved method of treating animal hair and Wool with chlorine for preparing it for falling and felting or, as it is called in manufacturing hats,

' Ithasalready been proposed to treat animal hair and wool with hypochl'orites, with chlorine water and even with gaseous chlorine for improving the lustre of the same. But the methods heretofore used in such treatments resulted invariably in a highly objectionable action on the hair and wool viz: a

reduction of the mechanical strength, and

even a rapid destruction thereof and more particularl 'a complete loss of the capacity of hair an wool to be fulled or felted.

The main object of my invention is to avoid the deleterious efl'ects above referred toof the chlorinetreatment of hair and Wool and to provide amethod for such treatment which imparts to animal hair and wool the capacit' of being readily fulled and felted or whicimproves this capacity without producing any deleterious efiect on the hair or wool.

In carefully studying the action of chlorine on animal hair and'wool I have dis- 7 covered that any deleterious action of chlo-- rine on animal hair and wool can be avoided by providing for a comparatively slow development of chlorine on the hair and wool itself, and avoiding the presence or formation of hypochlorites and hy ochlorous acid, while the formation of c 010 appears to have even a beneficial efanimal hair and wool particularly fit for fulling or feltin Thus for instance hair from haresand ra bits which cannot be fulled or' 40 felted without special preparation usually by ration being called carroting, is made fit for fullin and felting or carroted by my imrove rocess in a very efiicient manner.

therkmds of animal hair or fibre such as certain coarse kinds of Wool, for instance cross-bred wool, which could not be made fit for felting or fulling by any known methods, may be readily Worked. into felt hat bodies after having undergone my improved chlorinating process.

by pressing or y centrifugal action. Or I lorine dioxide ect. By satisfying these conditions-I make nitric acid and mercury nitrate, such prepa heating the mixture of the said aqueous solutions to from to 100 centigrade. Or this reactlon may be set up on increasing the concentration of the mixture of the .said aqueous solution by evaporation.

I may apply the said aqueous solutions to the hair or wool to be treated in any suitable or preferred manner, either simultaneously or successively by spraying or by brushing or by sim ly immersing the hair or Wool to' be treate into the said solutions successively or preferably into the mixture of such solutions and subsequentl removing the excess liquid may simply immerse the hair and wool into the mixture of the aqueous solutions and then heat the whole to a temperature of 50 to centigrade. 4 Q

The chlorides used in my improved process are inorganic or organic chlorides including hydrogen chloride or hydrochloric acid, or mixtures of substances capable of producing such chlorides. The oxygen carriers ma be peroxide of hydrogen persulphuric aci persulphates, chloric acid, chlorates or other substances rich in oxygen and capable of libcrating chlorine from chlorides. I

In some cases I may use besides the aqueous solutions of chlorides and oxygen carriers also acidulating agents, that is to say aqueous solutions of acids other than those serving as oxygen carriers or salts showing a reaction in aqueous solutions for enhancin or facilitating the liberation of chlorine. uch acidulating agents areoxalic or tartaric acid and even nitric acid or salts of iron, co per, nickel, cobalt chromium, manganese, mo y denum or tungsten.

In either case of heating or of drying the aqueous solutions in contact with the hair or wool, the chlorine is immediately taken up by the hair or wool as it is liberated and as the chlorine accompanied or not by chlorine dioxide is liberated comparatively slowly, any deleterious action on the hair or wool is avoided. v

If the said aqueous solutions are applied to the hair or wool on the skin by spraying or by brushing or by immersion and subsequent removal of the liquid in excess, the

quantity of chlorine liberated on andft'aken up by the hair orTw'ool may be nicely premuch lower, about only one'fifth to one twentieth of that used in the former case.

The aqueous solutions above referred to are of acomparatively loi concentration. The percentage of chlorine capable of being tions may vary. from one tenth ,to three percent, the quantity of'the oxygen carrier in the mixture of solutions is such asl to enable the said quantities of chlorine to be liberated from the chlorides. In-Fthe said quantities of chlorinevthose contained in the readily dccomposing chlorine dioxide if such'be formed are included. 1 I

I Wish it to be understood that hypochlorous acid or hypochlorites are not included in the chlorides used according to my invention.

Ewan/pleas (1). Cut hair or wool is immersed for about hour into a bath consisting of an aqueous solution containing 0.05 to 0.2% of hydrochloric'acid as a chloride and 0.25. to

1% of peroxide of hydrogen or an oxygen caprier to which. 0.0l%0.1% of a salt'as above described for instance copper sulphate or manganese chloride may be added. After removing the excess of liquid the hair or wool is dried at a temperature of 70 to 100 centigrade. It will be found that the hair or wool thus treated is thoroughly carroted.

(2-) To hair or wool on the skins is appliedby spraying or brushing an aqueous 7 solution contalning 1% of potassium chlorate and 3% of hydrochloric acid and then the skins so treated are dried-at a temperature of 70 to 100 'centigrade. The hair 0r wool' thus treated is not only thoroughly prepared for fulling and felting or carroted, but also shows a very beautiful durable lustre. The efl'ectof this bath may be notably enhanced by adding thereto 0.5 to 1% oxalic acid or tartaric acid as an acidulating agent.

I prefer to use uncoloured chlorides and oxygen carriers. Thereby I avoid any discolouring of the hair or wool whlch is more particularly important in'the manufacture of r I The same applies to the acidulatingagent What I claim is 1. A process for carroting animal hair and wo-ol comprising the st 'ep of applying to the hair and wool aqueous solutions of hydrogen chloride and a chlorate and causing the two substances to react'with each other in con tact with the hair. and wool. I

2. A process of carroting animal hair and Wool comprising the step of applying to the hair and wool an aqueous solution containing about three percent by Weight of hydrogen chloride and about one percent by weight of a chlorate and causing the two substancesto react with each other in contact with the hair liberated 1n ,suchfmrxtures of aqlieous solu- I and wool.

hair and wool an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride, a chlorate and oxalic acid and causing the hydrogen chloride and the chlorate to react witheach other in contact wlththe hair and wool.

c I e 4. A process of carroting animal hair and wool comprising the step of applying to-the hair and wool an aqueous solution containing about three percent by weight of hydrogen chloride and about one percent by weight of a chlorate and about one-half to six percent by weight of oxalic acid and causing the hydrogen chloride and the chlorate to react with each other in contact with the hair and W001. q

5. A process for carroting animal hair and Wool which consists in applying to the hair and wool an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride and a solution of a substance selected from the group consisting of perioxlde of hydrogen, pcrsulphuric acid, persulphate's,

chloric acid, and chlorates.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature. 

